This invention relates to strainers for removing debris and other foreign material from water or other fluids. It is conventional in the water strainer art to provide strainer grids which bridge the flow passages through the strainer in a plane generally perpendicular to the mainstream of water. In such prior art devices, however, as the debris and foreign material is removed from the water, it accumulates on the grids and closes the openings through the grids thus inhibiting the flow of water through the strainer. This causes an excessive pressure drop across the strainer unless the grids are frequently removed for cleaning. Also, strainers are usually located upstream of meters to insure that foreign particles of any significant size are removed from the flow stream to prevent damage to the meters which would otherwise be caused by the particles impinging on the measuring elements of the meters. In the prior art strainers' accumulation of foreign material on the grid in the path of the main flow stream distorts the normally symmetrical flow velocity profile. Certain types of meters such as turbine meters are sensitive to the velocity profiles of the flow and the accuracy of such meters is adversely effected by unsymmetrical flow velocity profile. In order to prevent the accumulation on the grid of excessive amounts such debris and foreign material and the adverse effects incident thereto, frequent maintenance is required in order to manually remove and clean the grids of such prior art strainers.